Fire Emblem Fates face-petting mini-game removed for Western launch

Nintendo strategy game Fire Emblem Fates has had its face-petting mini-game removed for its release outside Japan.

The game's original version let you caress the faces of anyone you liked to elicit gratitude from them. Here's what that looked like:

It's far from explicit - just a little odd. Regardless, it will not feature in the game when it arrives here in Europe or in North America.

Instead, there's a feature where you can wake up your spouse by tapping on their face or by blowing into the 3DS handheld's microphone.

"In certain circumstances, S-Level characters are able to wake up their spouses by blowing into the microphone or by tapping the screen to touch their hair, face or shoulder," a Nintendo spokesperson told Kotaku.

"These randomly triggered events are unrelated to the mini-game in the Japanese version."

The game also hit the headlines last month when it emerged another controversial scene had been changed during the localisation process. The scene in question involved a gay female character having their drink spiked with magic powder and then falling in love with a straight male - this has since been altered.